The 2024 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation, developed in collaboration with the European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), include a number of new approaches and treatment-specific recommendations to help manage the surging numbers of patients with AF worldwide. "Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most commonly encountered heart conditions, with a broad impact on all health services across primary, secondary and tertiary care," says Guidelines Chair Professor Isabelle C. Van Gelder, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
"The prevalence of AF is expected to double by 2050 as a consequence of the aging population, an increasing burden of comorbidities, improved awareness, and new technologies for detection." "The impact of AF is variable across individual patients; however, morbidity from AF remains highly concerning," adds Guidelines Chair Professor Dipak Kotecha, University of Birmingham, UK. "Patients with AF can suffer from a variety of symptoms and poor quality of life.
Stroke and heart failure as consequences of AF are now well appreciated by health care professionals, but AF is also linked to a range of other thromboembolic outcomes. These include subclinical cerebral damage (potentially leading to vascular dementia), and thromboembolism to every other organ, all of which contribute to the higher risk of death associated with AF." Published in the European Heart Journal ,.